Deceived Romance
by JayJayinMay
Summary: After a long battle in an Energon mine, Optimus has bad news for the Autobots: Megatron has kidnapped Jack. To make matters even worse, Megatron is following an ancient Cybertronian tradition that will either end with Jack dead, or bound to the leader of the Decepticons for the rest of his life.


_Deceived Romance_

_Chapter One: Plucking the Apple from the Tree of Forbidden Fruit_

Megatron smiled as he fought against the small Autobot femme. The Autobots had stumbled once again into one of his main Energon mines, and they had attempted to steal as much as they could, all the while preparing to blow up the rest of the mine. That was not the reason that the leader of the Decepticons had decided to grace his soldiers with his presence in battle. No, there was a far more important reason for that, and he was currently holding the organic femme back, away from the battlezone.  
He had decided long ago that the eldest human mech that the Autobots guarded would soon be his. He had ordered his entire army to capture the organic mech alive at all costs. Most had said nothing, assuming that their glorious leader merely wanted his revenge on the squishy. The few, higher ranked mechs that had had the nerve to question his motives were told that he merely wished to painfully extract the location of the Autobots' base of operations out of him personally. Only Soundwave knew the truth, and that was because Megatron had no chance of hiding anything from his Third-in-Command.  
Yes, it was true. He, Megatron, undefeated gladiator of the pits, leader of the Decepticons, conqueror and destroyer of worlds... had fallen hopelessly in love with the squishy insect designated as 'Jack'. It had taken a while for him to discover his feelings for the boy, but they only intensified as the boy continued to counter his actions in conquering yet another world.  
It would be a difficult conquest, he had admitted. The boy was under the personal guard of the Autobot femme he was fighting right now, and even their Prime had taken it upon himself to guard the boy once his intentions had been discovered. The fact that the boy himself was practically an honorary Autobot did nothing to make his mission any easier. None of that deterred him; quite the contrary, it actually made Jack all that more desirable. It had gotten to the point where he was greeted with various images of the mech every time he entered his recharge cycle. He was not complaining about the sight anymore.  
Megatron was many things, but he would not do things in the incorrect manner. Yes, shortcuts were acceptable, but when it came to courting your promised one... the longer the process, the more successful you were likely to be. He had managed to acquire an almost 'gentlemanly' (as the humans would describe it) view on courtship practices, although such views were far different from the human ideas of approaching an intended. The fact that it they were in the middle of a war did not help things.  
As per custom, he had done all the things a good Cybertronian should do. He had shown the mech the interest he held in him - after all, how many organics could say that the whole Decepticon army had been ordered to acquire him? Next had been the gift, which had to be accepted. Even as he dealt with the blue femme, he could see the spiked band around the boy's left arm, delivered right to the boy at his place of work. Now, he only had two steps left, and then the boy was _all his_.  
First, he had to win the blessing of the boy's guardian. Since they were at war, he _may_ have modified that step to 'beat the slag out of the femme'. As he shot one final blast from his cannons, which landed on target over the femme's T-cog. She would survive, he could not let his promised see his guardian die by his hands after all, but she would not be able to fight against him in this battle.  
Second, he had to gain the approval of the Prime and the mech's creators. Thanks to the war, all he had to do was fend off the Prime while he took the boy away. He had already 'gained the approval' of Jack's mech creator, if one could define 'gain the approval of' as 'crushed to a pulp beneath a stabilizing servo in anger'. Honestly, Megatron didn't see much of a difference, and since he knew his promised had no love in his heart for his mech creator, it was really to the mech's benefit.  
Much to their surprise, Megatron had ordered his troops to distract the Autobot leader at all costs for this battle. Once he had taken Jack back to the Nemesis, both he and Prime knew that the boy was his property forever. The other Autobots might contest it, but Megatron knew and would bet his spark on it that Optimus, for all his freedom ideals, still followed some of the traditions of Cybertron, including the courtship ones. After all, the Prime had already mentioned his "courtship addiction" in one of their prior battles.  
The leader of the Decepticons managed to smile down, not with malice but rather love, as he plucked his promised up with two of his digits. The tiny mech tried desperately to escape his grasp, but Megatron was not about to have fulfilled all of these tasks just to lose the boy to a loose grip. Besides, why would he want to let go of the mech now that he finally had him, literally, in his grasp?  
"Decepticons, let us leave this battle! Destroy this mine, and the Autobots with it!" he shouted above the sounds of cannon-fire. Immediately, all of his soldiers complied, and began falling back to the location where a Ground Bridge was already waiting, opened at the perfect time as per Soundwave's infallible logic skills. With the boy in his servo, he began a full-out sprint for his Ground Bridge.  
Out of the corner of his optics, he saw Optimus turn just in time to see that he had failed. Megatron paused just before he entered the swirling Ground Bridge vortex to taunt not only the Prime, but his promised's guardian, and the organic femme that had most probably had brought him into the battle in the first place. He reminded himself to thank the femme properly later before he walked calmly through the Ground Bridge. Behind him, he could hear the few remainders of his troops setting up the perfect explosion that would most probably cause more Decepticon casualties than Autobot, but right now, Megatron couldn't care less.  
The first thing Megatron saw when he stepped out of the Ground Bridge was Soundwave, manning the controls as usual. The silent mech turned to face him, before turning his attention to the organic in his servo. The mech was still struggling to get out of his grasp, but he was trying not to make any noises. He chuckled darkly at this, before lifting the small mech up to his optic height, cupping his servo around him to protect his promised.  
"Do not bother fighting, Jack. We will not injure you. I would not have gone through all that trouble of giving you that bracelet you wear with my designation engraved on it otherwise." He smiled softly on the inside as he saw Jack look at his gift with fresh eyes. He said nothing to Soundwave as he walked out of the room and towards his quarters. He had much to do with his organic promised, and so little time to do it.

* * *

_Autobot Outpost Omega One_  
While Ratchet began his repairs on Arcee, Optimus managed to group together the other three Autobots of his crew in the med bay. All of them had a look of failure on their faceplates, Optimus especially so. It had been his duty to protect the humans, especially so those that had come to grow close to them, but he had failed Jack, the one that had he had grown the closest to.  
"I'm sure that Ratchet can triangulate the Nemesis' position! Then all we need to do is barge onboard and take Jack back for ourselves!" Smokescreen said, anger and hope blending into the sound that was his voice. Optimus and Ratchet both shook their helms dejectedly.  
"No, we cannot. Megatron, for reasons unknown to me, has invoked an ancient Cybertronian tradition. If we were to go after Jack now, while he is under Megatron's guard, we would risk starting a whole new war. I am afraid that Jackson Darby is no longer under our protection," he did not like saying it, but it was his duty, both as their leader and as their Prime. Why Megatron had picked Jack to envoke such an old and one-time tradition, he could not begin to fathom, but it was technically as binding as the Matrix of Leadership was to him.  
"What do you mean we can't get Jack back? I didn't see or hear Megatron invoke any of our traditions, and I was lying right next to him!" Arcee managed to yell out in anger, although a tinge of pain was added to it as Ratchet none-too-gently realigned one of her leg struts. Optimus turned to face her, and his optics were filled with remorse.  
"Arcee, the ritual Megatron fulfilled is one of the few that, technically, require no words to be said. I have been aware that Megatron has been slowly completing it for some time now, but I had never expected him to succeed. That is a mistake I cannot undo." Arcee glared at him from the medical berth, but she, as well as the others minus Ratchet, looked at him in confusion. Sighing on the inside, he thought of where he should start.  
"Megatron has completed the Five Trials of the Promised One with Jack as the sole object of his attention." When the confused looks did not disappear, Optimus continued to explain. "It is an ancient courtship ritual, where one fulfils these five tasks, after which he can take his loved one for himself, no matter who objects. He had fulfilled three of them before this day."  
"What? But... Megatron can't love Jack! He hates organics!" Smokescreen blurted out. Bulkhead and Bumblebee nodded in agreement.  
**"I've never even heard of that ritual,"** Bumblebee added, confused. Optimus hadn't expected him to. Actually, he had been surprised that Ratchet still remembered it when he had explained their situation to the medic a few weeks ago.  
"You would not have. It was considered old-fashioned and out-dated when I was a sparkling," Ratchet remarked. Arcee banged her servo against the medical berth in pain as Ratchet fixed her other leg strut.  
"Indeed, Ratchet. However, it is undeniable, and, even as Prime, I cannot reverse the ritual. Once Megatron took Jack through the Ground Bridge, there was nothing, and still is nothing, that we could do." Optimus added. Smokescreen and Bumblebee started muttering something to themselves, but Optimus didn't get the chance to pay attention to them as Bulkhead spoke to him.  
"So, what exactly did Megs do that we can't get Jack back?"  
Optimus was tempted to sigh in frustration, but resisted the urge. He had not expected them to understand. "First, he had to show Jack that he was interested in him..."  
"Well, that's no shocker there. Megatron had the whole Decepticon army after Jack. I wouldn't exactly call that a good interest, though..." Arcee commented, sarcasm coating the fact that she was upset,  
"Afterwards, he had to have given Jack a gift, which Jack must have accepted..." Optimus was again interrupted as Smokescreen looked at him in shock.  
"When did Jack take anything from old Megs? Jack was terrified of him!"  
"Jack still _is_ terrified of him," Arcee remarked, before adding, "But I can't help but agree. How could Megatron have said Jack accepted any gift of his?"  
"The spiked bracelet around Jack's wrist had a Cybertronian glyph on it. It would translate into Megatron's name when he was still a candidate for a Prime. You would not have recognised the glyph; I myself would have dismissed it as one of the human Asian languages had I not instantly recognised it." The four youngest Autobots gasped in horror and shock at the idea. Clearly, to them, it had to have been impossible for Megatron to sneak something to Jack without any of them knowing.  
"After that, Megatron would have had to acquire a blessing from Jack's creator." Optimus waited patiently for the sound of denial from Arcee's mouthplates, and was not surprised when it came barely a second later.  
"That's impossible! Mrs Darby would never have willingly given Jack away to a Decepticon, and Megatron would never walk up to a human and leave her alive! He can't have done this one!" Optimus waited for a moment for Arcee to calm down, and for Ratchet to hit her on the helm with one of his wrenches in frustration because she moved while he was working on her. He continued once she finished cursing him.  
"You have forgotten, Arcee, that humans require two creators. Agent Fowler reported to me two and a half weeks ago that Phillip Darby was declared dead after a crushed pile of organic paste was found in a park in New York with his DNA throughout it. Most likely, Megatron threatened him with death for the blessing, before getting rid of his witness." Optimus had been shocked that day when he had received the report, and that had been when he had suspected that Megatron was attempting the ancient courting ritual.  
"Today, he completed two steps. Firstly, he managed to gain the acceptance of his guardian, and, lastly, he managed to gain the approval of the current Prime." The words left a bitter taste of Optimus' glossa, but the truth was the truth, no matter how upset, angry, or unworthy of his position they made him feel.  
Surprisingly, it was Bumblebee who managed to speak first, while the others overcame their shock. **"But neither of you wanted him to take Jack, and you both tried to stop him from taking him! How can you justify that as 'completing' those steps?"** Optimus looked down at the yellow scout he had personally raised from sparkling-hood to where he was now, still a youngling but forced to act older for a war he had been created into.  
"Megatron does not see it as a denial because we resisted the idea. He considered it an approval because we_ failed_ to stop him. I would also consider that an approval." More bitter words flowed out, but, once again, nothing would stop him from saying what was true.  
"So, there's no hope we'll ever see Jack again," Bulkhead commented. The Wrecker looked shocked and slightly upset by that news, but Optimus was not surprised. All three of their human charges had grown on all of them. To lose one of them prematurely, especially to Megatron, was both a terrible outcome, but left all of them feeling dejected.  
"I am afraid so. Megatron has, for all intents and purposes, purchased Jackson from us for the rest of his mortal life. The only way we will ever see him again is if Megatron lets us."

* * *

_Megatron's Quarters, the Nemesis_  
Megatron set the mech onto his berth gently, allowing him to walk off of his servo onto the metal surface. Jack almost instantly turned around to face him, and he instantly noticed the fear on his promised's faceplates. He did not like the fact that his promised was scared of him, and making his promised more comfortable around him was added to his to-do list.  
"Why... why did you bring me here? Why do you want me?" Jack asked him, his fear only slightly holding him back as he spoke to him. Megatron let his spark sing at its promised's bravery, but he maintained a calm appearance on the outside. He tried to make himself less intimidating to his little squishy, but millennia of battle-hardening and leading the Decepticons did not just fall away when one willed it.  
"My Jack, you are here because I want you here. I want you." The mech looked up at him in horror when he stopped talking, but Megatron couldn't for the life of him figure out why he was so frightened. He tried looking to see if he had inadvertently said anything threatening to him, but he came up with nothing. So, he turned back to look at the now cowering teen.  
"Do not worry. I said I would not harm you, and I am a mech of my word. When I make a promise, I keep it, no matter what. So calm down; you're going to be here for a long time." Yet, despite his attempts, he could only sense his promised's fear growing stronger.

* * *

**Hello! This popped up into my head awhile ago, and I just wanted to put it up. For those of you reading When in the World, I WILL update within the next week. I just... got distracted by a lot of things. Like a project for example, or a biology test... and maybe a story or fifty competing for my attention.**

**I cannot promise many things for this story. Since I don't have permanent internet access, I won't promise you frequent or regular updates. I will not promise you whether or not Megatron will do the deed with Jack (I haven't decided on that one yet...) I also try to keep my spelling and grammar as perfect as possible, but... well, to be fair, this keyboard doesn't like the shift key, and, try as I might, I am human, and I do miss a few things. If you see a mistake, don't be afraid to tell me. I'll edit it out when I get the chance.**

**I can promise a few things though. I WILL finish this story (unless I die, or my muse decided to visit Mars for a millennia or fifty). I hate having unfinished stories, especially when people wait for them (I was on that side of the 'rewriting' and then 'cancelled' story too many times for my own liking). I will promise to be original with this. I do recall a few stories with a Megatron/Jack pairings (and more than a few Megatron/Sam Witwicky pairings have met my reading list too...) but I do not intend to be them! This is Deceived Romance, not Copy-Paste Land! It will be as different as I can manage.**

**I do also promise this (separate from the others for a good reason): if, for whatever muse-forced reason, I decide to write a... 'M' scene... well, I'll give you guys a warning, and change the rating appropriately. Most probably, I will just make a vague, implied before scene and after scene. I don't think I'll write any... explicit scene, but, like I said, let us see... Either way, it will be a separate chapter of its own for those of you who don't do that.**

**As always, I accept your comments, ideas, constructive criticism, and so forth. PMs are welcome, and anonymous reviewing is allowed, so go crazy if you want!**

**Once again, for those reading When in the World, I will update within this week. It's just getting late now, and I have school tomorrow, where I get to do a dancing assignment with a guy with a broken ankle (for marks, too!).**

**If (read: when) I decide to update this is currently unknown. I am obligated to two other stories too (three actually, but one won't go on this site, and the other, a challenge I got, still needs a few tweaks on the first chapter), so just keep that in mind. I'll probably land up updating them all on one day anyway, but just a fair warning. I would give a guess for when I update, but the last time I did that ended badly for all involved. I might add more this week already if this goes well and my muse writes out like crazy... and I still have internet. Let's see.**

**Also worth noting is that my chapters get longer with content as I get into the story, and have more to say ("He can talk even more?" you ask. I can.) I'll try keep A/Ns to a min as well, but... I can get carried away. Sorry for that.**

**Hope you enjoyed! I'll shut up now.**

**JayJayinMay**


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